


New Years ballet

by DiezSimmons



Series: Newsies cause thunderstorms [4]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Ballet, Emotions, M/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 07:59:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17824904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiezSimmons/pseuds/DiezSimmons
Summary: Basically, boys pining after one another on the last day of the year. Race's end of the year ballet show





	New Years ballet

It was a quiet Monday morning in the Newsies flat. Jack and Davey were both still fast asleep after their late night adventures. Spot was god knows where and Romeo obviously just came home after a night out. It was finally new years eve and Race was so ready for it. He was out of bed early to make breakfast for Crutchie and him.   
The flat the newsies lived it was located in the middle of Queens and the whole group had put all their money together, and a bit help from some of the parents, and bought one whole floor near the top of the flat. They had torn down the walls and made one massive living space and then made small apartments on the two long sides leaving the living space in the middle. The rooms contained a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom that easily could be split into two smaller bedrooms. Each small home was designed for two people and the rooms were quickly divided between the Newsies. Nameplates on the doors followed soon after and some couples even went as far as installing a doorbell. Most days the inhabitants of the floor woke up at fairly early as nearly all of them work. Half of the Newsies had an education and worked full-time jobs while others were still in school or had quit but took on nearly full-time jobs as cashiers or retail workers. But today wasn’t that day. All the Newsies managed to get the day off and many went out the night before. Tonight was new years eve and Race was preparing for his special new years' dance recital. The show was an every year event on Broadway and this year it was the first time all the Newsies were able to come and watch the show. However Race didn’t know yet, he was told that everyone had work tonight only to come home around 10 PM at night, just in time to celebrate the New years but way to late for Race’s performance that started at 8:00 PM. Race had been practising like crazy for months but he was getting angrier by the second because no one even mentioned his performance. No one even told him to break a leg which they did every single year. Race was grumpy and he was hurt and he may have let the pancakes on a little too long for Crutchie as his best friend didn’t say anything at all. It hurt even more because Race might have a teeny tiny little crush on the boy that was forced to use crutches. 

Soon it was noon and Race was ready to leave. He was packing the last of his stuff in his favourite backpack. Only Crutchie was awake yet and only because he knew there was food. Race slammed the door forcefully behind him when he was done. He was fuming and everyone knew it when he turned the radio on and put it on his favourite radio station, hard rock, and turned the volume to max just to annoy other people.

When he entered the studio he was still pissed but soon happy feelings started seeping in as he saw all his friends that were already there. He dropped his bag in the dressing rooms and went to find his costume. This year they were doing small performances, every dancer made his own dance to a song that they would perform. Race was scheduled to be the last solo dancer of the night. The costume ladies told him his costume was ready and was hanging in his dressing room. When he heard he was in charge of his own performance he was ecstatic, he started working on his performance immediately and within days he had finished his set. Practice started soon after that for him, he made sure that none of his friends saw him practice as he wanted it to be a surprise for them all. The dance held a lot of emotion and he wanted to keep it a surprise for his friends. When he heard they weren’t coming he cried, of course, he did, not even his best of friends could come and watch him dance. He was there every year but now he suddenly wasn’t.

Pretty soon he found his costume and then he quickly ran towards the makeup station, costume in hands, ready for some makeup. He was in and out fairly quickly as he, of course, didn’t need a lot of makeup. When he was finally done and before he put his costume on he decided to stretch before getting into the costume. 

After a bit of searching, he found an empty and mostly silent spot on stage where he sat down and started his warm-up routine. He stretched every limb and massaged his muscles. He then put on his ballet shoes and went through that warming up. When he decided he was warm enough he took a drink of water and ate an apple before finally putting on his costume. He was just walking towards his dressing room when his music stopped, he looked at his phone and saw that Crutchie was calling him. A warm feeling spread through him when he saw the smiling face of his best friends, and maybe crush, and he quickly picked up.

“Hello, Crutch. What can I do for you today.” He tried to sound cheerful but it was more difficult than expected.

“Hey Racer, a quick question could you grab some milk before you come home.” Race nearly cried then and there.

“Well I am home late but I will try okay.” He responded, his voice quivering slightly.

“Okay, great. Bye, see you tonight.” Crutchie hung up leaving Race standing there with the phone still at his ear but no one to talk too. He signed before putting away his phone and returning to the rest of the group for the final rehearsal. They went through every piece and sooner than expected it was Races turn. He danced but nothing went as it should. His movements weren’t fluid and he wasn’t able to follow the rhythm at all. Halfway through the song he simply gave up and walked off stage. He barely made it to his dressing room before the tears that had been building in his eyes started to leak out. He curled up in a corner and just sobbed. All the pent up frustrations and hurt just came out along with the nerves that had started creeping in as the day progressed. He hid underneath the table that was set up in the room. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there before the door opened and Medda Larkin entered. Race didn’t even bother to look up until Miss Medda Larkin sat down with him underneath the table. They just sat there for a while as they both waited for Race to stop crying.

“Anthony Racetrack Higgins what to do with you.” She mumbled as she lifted the boys head to wipe away the stray tears.

“I don’t know miss Medda.” He whispered as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, how about you tell me what’s been going on sweetie.” Miss Medda looked at him with loving eyes, she had always taken care of Race ever since he had shown up for practice bruised and bleeding from several visible cuts on his face and arms. Medda had taken him in at age nine. He wasn’t the only one as he soon realised as he met the other boys she had already taken in. He met Jack who he soon became good friends with and Albert was introduced soon after that. He was very happy with Medda and his life got even better when a fourth boy was introduced to the group, a boy with crutches. Medda said his name was Charlie but soon everyone was calling him Crutchie as he made clear that he preferred that name. This was the same for the fact that he was called Race instead of Anthony. Crutchie never told people about the tale of his crutches but on one rainy day he told the story to Race and only Race and he had vowed never to tell the story to anyone else and so far he hadn’t broken that promise.

“No one is even bothering to come and watch my performance this year, they have never been able to all come and watch but every year at least a few would come and look but no one even asked me about it this year not even Crutchie. He has always been there since the first show after you brought him home and now he is suddenly not even interested. I have no idea if I upset any of them and I just want to cry. You know how I feel about Crutch and I am afraid he somehow found out or that I just completely messed up ya know.” Race sighed and Medda felt for the boy. The pair just sat there in silence before Medda pulled out her makeup bag and fixed her son’s face before she reached into her bag and pulled a bagel with salmon and cream cheese out of it, Race’s favourite. She watched him devour the bagel in no time and handed him a bottle of orange juice when he finished. Together they made moves to stand up, Race standing and helping Medda. They hugged and Medda then ushered the boy towards the stage as the show was about to start. 

Race sat down in one of the wings closest to the stage so he would bother no one but could still watch the show. He was amazed by his teammates as they danced their own routines. There were a few couples and he was left breathless by the grace the couples displayed. Way too soon it was time for intermission as the curtain closed the last couple came running into the wings, out of breath and with a rosy gloss on their face. Race got up of the floor determined to make the best of it.

After the intermission Race put on his shoes and sat down to pull the drawstrings tight before once more shaking his arms and legs a little bit looser, he bounced on the balls of his feet before returning to his spot in the wing to wait for his turn. He recognised the boy that danced his number before him as gracefully entered the stage to start his song. He got of off the floor and made his way to where he would be entering the stage. Miss Medda stood there waiting, she quickly engulfed him in a hug before holding his face in her hands

“You can do it, Anthony, don’t doubt yourself. Get on that stage and enjoy it son.” Just then the other boy came running into the wings. The crowd was still applauding but it stopped pretty soon after the lights got turned off. Race took a deep breath before stepping onto the stage. He took his opening pose and waited for the music to start. He focussed solemnly on the music and he just danced. He hit all the poses and everything came to him easily as if he never failed the last repetition. His dance was emotional and everyone in the audience could feel that. He danced for the love of his life, giving everything he had and pouring his heart out in his dance. He didn’t notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until his dance was over and he was watching his lover with hopeful eyes. It was like he was woken from a trance when the first person in the audience stood up applauding. The rest of the audience followed soon after. The curtains started to close and even when they were closed the people didn’t stop clapping. Race shot a glance sideways where Medda was standing, tears visible in her eyes. He quickly ran off stage just as the curtains opened again so that they could bow one by one. Race was last. When it was finally time for him to come onto the stage he ran onto the stage and jumped into the air to make a few pirouettes before coming down and bowing to the audience before stepping back only to come out again with all the dancers for the last bow. Then the curtain closes for the last time that evening. Race follows the others as they exit the stage to change and then go home for the evening. Before he headed to his changing room he went to Medda who engulfed him into a hug before pushing him towards his changing room. He pushed open the door and went to enter his changing room but he froze when he saw that his changing room was already occupied. It was occupied by multiple people actually.

“Race!! Dude your performance was amazing.” Jack clapped him on his shoulder as he stood there frozen in shock. All of his friends were cramped into his narrow dressing room. Race didn’t know what to say and when his friends noticed he wasn’t doing anything the chatter and laughter slowly died down and they became silent. They all watched the boy who was still frozen in place, his face unreadable. 

“Okay everyone out of the room now.” Crutchie emerged from the group of young adults and he started to usher them out, pushing them with his Crutch as Race just stood there. Nobody noticed Race’s teary eyes yet. When they were finally gone Crutchie turned to Race who still had to move.

“You… You came. You actually came to watch me dance.” Race stuttered as Crutchie approached him.

“We wanted to surprise you but you didn’t notice us in the crowd so Medda brought us here. She scolded us for being insensitive and she was angry at us for making you sad. We filmed your whole performance. I was near tears Racer.” Crutchie whispered as he stepped closer to Race. “I should’ve realised what it meant for you and I am so so sorry for not making sure you knew I would never leave you alone on such a big day for you.” Crutchie grabbed the other boys upper right and hobbled even closer into the boy’s personal space. “It also really bothered me because of this.” Then Crutchie closed the space between their lips and kissed him. Race stood there in shock for a few seconds before his eyes slid close and he moved his lips against Crutchies as he pulled him closer to his body. Race had absolutely no idea how long they had kissed, it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds but every second felt like absolute bliss. When the pair reluctantly parted Race leaned his forehead against Crutchies as he traced his jawline with his left hand as his right kept him close to his body and stable as the Crutchies crutch had fallen to the ground.

“So that was unexpected.” Race breathed out as he tilted Crutchies head to be able to look into his eyes. Race felt himself lean closer again and he was very happy that Crutchie seemed to have no problem with that at all. Without breaking the kiss Race took matters into his own hand as he slipped his hands to Crutchies thighs. With one smooth movement, he pulled Crutchie up against his body. He walked them over to where a small couch was located in the corner of the dressing room. Ever so carefully he lowered Crutchie onto the couch on his back. He had to break the kiss in order to do so but once he made sure Crutch was comfortable he positioned himself on top of his best friend, boyfriend? Careful of his busted leg. He traced a finger alongside Crutchies face, tracing the small scar on his chin from when he fell down the stairs when trying to prove that he didn’t need his crutches anymore. 

“You gonna kiss me again or just stare like a creep.” Crutchies sarcastic comment rang through the room followed by their chuckles before Race settled himself more onto Crutchie. They shared one more loving look before they kissed again. At first Crutchies hands tangled themselves in his hair but ever so slowly they began to move south. He traced Races sides before pulling him closer to his body. He slowly slipped his hands underneath his shirt and he felt Race shiver. Then the door banged open against the wall and the two on the couch parted with a shock. The other Newsies had chosen that exact moment to reclaim Races dressing room. It was dead silent and Race and Crutchie didn’t dare move afraid of the reactions of the other guys.

“Geez dudes, we knew it was coming but you should practise this at home people.” Then the whole group broke out in laughter. Not long after that Medda told them to go home to celebrate the new year. By the time the group came bustling through the front door is was just past 10 o’clock. Jack turned on the tv before disappearing into the shared kitchen and returning with two bowls filled with crisps. Crutchie pulled Race onto the couch as they watched the new years special of various different shows. Slowly the time ticked towards midnight and when they entered the last minute everyone started counting down from 60 to 0. 

“3...2...1… Happy new year!” Everyone exclaimed before a champagne bottle was loudly opened and everyone hugged one another. Crutchie and Race looked into each other's eyes before they shared their first new years kiss. In the kitchen, Jack and Davey shared a similar kiss. A great way to enter the new year indeed.


End file.
